Piano-action



(No Model.)

l D. E. DOPP.

PIANO ACTION.

No. 364,399. Patented June 7, 1887.-

UNITED ,STATES DANIEL E. DOPP, OF SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA.

PATENT GEEICE.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,399, dated Juno 7,1887.

t j Application filed March 11i, 1887. Serial No. 230,903. (No model.)

To aZZ whom ib may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. DOPP, of Santa Rosa, county of Sonoma, and State of California, have invented an Improvement in Piano-Actions; and Il hereby declare t-he following to he a full, clear, and exact description thereof. l

AMy invention relates to piano actions, and especially to those which are adapted for upright pianos; and my invention consists in the novel spring connections of the hammerbutt and the back check, by which I avoid the employment 'of ordinary pivots packed or hushed with cloth, which become subject to dampness,l and also by which I am enabled to effect a satisfactory delicacy and rapidity ofaction; in the adjustability of these springconnections for the purpose of exactly adjusting the hammer and the back-check; in the peculiar arrangement and relation of the back-check to the hammer-butt and the operating-jack, whereby said back-check is enabled to take the place of said jack after the latterhas thrown off from the butt, by which' means I am enabled to produce arapid repeat of the hammer; in the damper, spring, and connection by which said damper is operated, and in the screw-guides for adjusting thejackextension and other details, all of which I shall hereinafter fully describe. l

XReferring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 isa side elevation of my piano-action. Fig. 2 is a crosssection of the'jack-extension c on the line ofthe guide-scre'ws'd. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the attachn'leutof the adjustable bracket F in its seat.v Fig. L is a vertical section of same. Y

A is the key-frame, having the balance-rail a, over which the key B is balanced in the usual manner. The inner end of the key is slitted horizontally `near its lower portion, forming a kind of tongue, b, uponwhich the disk-protected end of ascrew, b', which passes down through the key, is adapted to bear. It will now be seenv that by turning down said screw, so that its lower eud forces itself against the tongue b of the key, said tongue is pressed down to its limit,and thereupon the body of the key at its inner end is raised by the screw, which has the eect of depressing its outer end, and a reverse movement of the screw produces a reverse movement of the outer end of the key. By these means I am enabled to level the bank of keys of the piano without any difiiculty and with much more facility than the usual method of removing thekey entirely and placing a washer or Washers under it upon the balance-rail. The inner end of the key is also slitted horizontally near its top, forming an upper tongue, b2, to the end of which, by means of a single screw, b3, is iixed a bearing, b, for the jackextension c. protected by abearing-disk which presses upon the main body of the key. It will no-w be seen that by turning down said screw the tongue b2 is thereby elevated, which raises the extension c and its jack, and a reverse movementof the screw depresses said extension and jack. The object of this vertical adjustment of the jack is of course to bringits operating end into proper relation with the hammer-butt.

C is the jack, which is pivoted at o to the j ack-extension c, and isprovided with a spring, c2, as usual, the jack being also limited in its upward movement by the usual stop, c3.

D is the main rail or support for the action, and in the lower portion of this support are inserted two common wood-screws, d, having smooth inclined or beveled heads, which project on each side of the upper portion of the jack-extension c, which is properly beveled to the same inclination as the heads ofthe screws. These screws serve as guides for the jack-extension in its vertical movement, and also as means for adjusting said extension sidewise, fcr by screwing them in or setting them out their beveled heads act upon the beveled sides -of the jack-extension with the adjusting effect desired.

E is the hammer, having the butt c. Instead of pivoting the butt directly to the bar D and packing said pivot, I employ the following spri 11g-connection, which serves all the purposes of a pivot and avoids the usual disadvantages of a pivot-connection, the principal one of which is the effect of dampness upon the bushing of the pivot, causing the parts to move hard:

In the main rail D, is secured,in a manner I shall presently describe, a bracket, F, made by bending a single piece of metal, as shown in The lower end of this screw bis- ICO Fig. 3. In the outer end of the bracket is secured, by means of a split pin,f, straddling its inner coil, a coil-spring, G, the free end of which is extended and is secured properly to the hammerbutt. It will now be seen that this spring serves as a pivot for the hammerbutt, though the spring itself does not turn on any center, but simply permits the movement of the hammer-butt by reason of the flexibility or springiness of its own coils, andthe coils of said spring may be packed with cloth without any disadvantage. The split pin j' prevents any turning of the spring on a center which is not necessary. This springconnection of the hammer produces a delicacy and rapidity of movement in said hammer which cannot be acquired by means ol' a pivot and avoids all objection on the score of dampncss.

The bracket F is secured inthe rail I) iu the following` manner: Its inner end or head, j", is inserted in a socket in the rail, while its neck j projects outwardly through a slot therein, which slot binds pretty closely on the neck. A screw, f u, passes down from the top of the rail through the head of the bracket loosely and binds a cap piece, f", thereon. The socket in which the head tits is large enough to permit aside movementofsaid head, and, therefore, by loosening up the screw j the whole bracket may be turned sidewise to a proper position, and may be held in the position to which it is adjusted by tightening the screw against the cap-piece f* on the head of the bracket. In this way the hammer may be properly adjusted. The upper end of the jack bears against the hammer-butt, as usual, and operates said hammer by its vertical movement.

I is the back-check, consisting of a curved piece, to the outer end of which is fitted a head, i', adapted to move on its seat and to be set in the posit-ion required by means of a setscrew, i. In this way the head of the backcheck is rendered adjustable and may beIiXed in the proper position. rIhe back-check, iustead of being pivoted to the rail or bar D, is secured thereto by a spring-connection similar to that which secures the hammerbutt to the rail, and consisting of a coil-spring, J, secured to the inner end ofthe check and mounted in a bracket, K, by means of a split pin, 7s, said bracket being fitted to the rail D and adapted to be adjusted in its seat by means of the screw 7c and the cap-piece 7a2, similar to that which I have heretofore described with relation to the bracket F. Thej ack G is slitted over the back-check, and the jack-extension c is slitted upon said backcheek near its spring-connec` tion, whereby it operates the check. This operation of the check by means of the extension c of the jack in the manner here shown effects the following purpose in connection with the position and shape of said jack:

It will be seen that when the jack is elevated against the hammer-butt and the hammer thrown forward to deliver its stroke on the wire XV, the backcheck accompanies it, and,

after the hammer has `delivered its blow, catches its butt on the recoil, and the jack itself being now thrown olf from the butt, the check is held against tlie butt by means of the jack-extension c, and may be made to operate the hammer itself with the jack thrown off entirely, whereby, after the hammer is close lo the wire, the jackexteusion may cause it to rapidly repeat without the assistance of the jack, thereby takingtheplace ofthejack to accomplish this.

Lis the damper, which is operated iu the followingnovel manner: Itis supported upouthe upper end ol' a bent spring-stem, Z, which passes downwardly behind the main rail D, and is secured thereto underneath.v A strap, l', is secured to this stem and passes through an opening in the main rail D, and is secured to the back-check at a point near its inner end, as shown. Therefore, as the check moves up the strap is drawn u pon,and the damper is thereby thrown back from the wire, but is allowed to move forward again to its place against the wire upon the return movement of the backcheek.

Mis the usual soft-pedal bar, and N is the usual swell-pedal bar.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is@ v 1. In a piano-action, a connection for the swinging or hinged parts thereof, such as the hammer-butt, backcheek, Ste., consist-ing of a spring attached to said parts and to the supportingpiece, substantially as described.

2. In a piano action, the means for connecting the hammer-butt with thesupporting piece or rail, consisting of a coil-spring secured by its free end to the hammer-butt and mounted on the rail or support, substantially as described.

3. In a piano-action, the hammer and its butt and a rail or support therefor, in combination with a bracket secured to said rail or support and a coil-spriug fixed in the end of the bracket and having its free end fixed to the hammer-butt, substantially as described.

4. In a piano-action, the hammer and its butt and a supporting rail or piece therefor, in combination with a bracket secured to the rail, a coil-spring in the outer end of the bracket and secured by its free end to the hammer-butt, and a split pin passing through the ends of the bracket and straddling the inner end of the coil-spring whereby it is held, substantially as described.

5. In a piano-action, the hammer and its butt and the rail or support therefor, in combination with the bracket F, seated in a socket in the rail and held to place bya cap and screw, whereby it may be adjusted from side to side, and the coil-spring secured in the outer end of the bracket and having its free end attached to the hammer-butt, substantially as described. G. In a piano-action, the back-check having or support by described,

its inner end secured tothe rail a coil-spring, substantially as IOO IIO

7. In a piano-action, the back-check and a v rail or support therefor, in combination with a bracket secured to the rail or support and a coil-spring secured in the outer end of the 5 bracket and having its other end attached to the back-check, substantially as described.

8. Ina piano-action, the back-check and the rail or support therefor, in combination with the bracket K, secured in a socket in the rail or support, the screw and cap by which it is held and which permit its adjustment, and the coil-spring secured in its outer end and having its free end attached to the back-check, substantially as described. Y y

9.- In a piano-action, the hammer and its butt and the back-eheck operating against the butt of the hammer, in combination With the vertical]y-movingl jack operating against the hammer-butt, and the jack-extension c, oper- 20 ating on the baclecheck, whereby said check is made to take the place of the jack aftersaid jack is thrown off, thereby operating the hammer for a repeat, substantially as described.

10. In a piano-action, the main rail Dand the verticallymovable jack-extension c, in 2 5 combination with the bevel headed screws in the main rail bearing against the sides of the jacketension,whereby thelatter is guided and may be adj usted, substantially as described.

11. In a piano-action, the combination of 3o the movable back-check, the damper having the springshank,and the strap connecting said spring-shank with the back-check, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my 35' hand. i I

DANIEL E. DOPP. Witnesses:

W. P. TrroMrsoN, J osEPH H. GADDrs. 

